In the not-too-distant past, being branded an ‘enemy of the people’ or ‘state’ in certain parts of the world was tantamount to a death sentence.

And if you look at the other world leaders or ruling parties who have labelled the media or others as such, it hints at a concerning precedent.

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Below are a few examples, but others who have attacked and threatened the press include Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, whose wife recently said would win an election as a corpse.

Venezuela

Hugo Chavez, autocrat and former president of Venezuela, once referred to TV station Globovision as ‘enemies of the homeland’.

But he didn’t stop there. He also successfully managed to take RCTV, the country’s biggest private network and critic of his government, off air by not renewing its licence.

Critics at the time called it a crushing of free speech and democracy and his style of government was renowned for being centralised with institutions built around him.

In another interesting parallel, Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, told the New Yorker he was the first leader to master Twitter as a way of bypassing the media and presenting ‘alternative’ facts.

Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar’s former military junta suppressed most forms of opposition (Picture: PA)

Monthly magazine The Irrawaddy was once branded an ‘enemy of the state’ by Myanmar’s former military regime.

It operated from exile for two decades after being founded in 1993 and was one of the only publications to criticise the rights-abuse of the ruling party.

The country was considered a pariah state when it was ruled by an oppressive military junta from 1962 to 2011.

The generals who ran the country suppressed almost all dissent – most symbolically through the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Russia

Joseph Stalin used the phrase to describe his enemies (Picture: Gro/REX/Shutterstock)

In 1997, Russian state media named Noyaya Gazeta-Mir Ludei ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘enemy of the state’.

In fact the government was so hostile that it forced it to vacate its premises on 2000 and then set up a rival with a similar name.

The hostility worked because by 2005 the paper had closed.

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The phrase, enemy of the people, is also eerily reminiscent of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who sent designated enemies to labour camps or had them shot.

Mao’s China

Mao embraced the phrase (Picture: Roger-Viollet/REX/Shutterstock)

Stalin was not the first to use the phrase ‘enemies of the people’.

Mao Zedong, former Chinese leader, embraced the concept of calling individuals or associations that were critical of his policies ‘enemies of the people’.

As he explained: ‘members of society are divided into two major categories: the ‘people’ and the ‘class enemy’.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon also referred to the press as the enemy (Picture: REX/Shutterstock )

Donald Trump isn’t the first US President to use the phrase, following in the footsteps of Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate Scandal.

In taped phone conversations with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the then president said: ‘The press is your enemy…Enemies. Understand that? … Because they’re trying to stick the knife right in our groin.’